Non Verbal Communication

Types of non verbal communication

• Eye contact
• Facial expressions
• Gestures
• Posture
• Haptics / Touch
• Proximics / Personal Space
• Paralanguage
• Physical Appearance, Artifacts
• Personal environment
How can you improve your nonverbal
communication skills?
1. Pay Attention to Nonverbal Signals

• Pay attention to things like

eye
contact, gestures, posture,
body movements, and tone
of voice.

• All of these signals can

convey important
information that is not put
into words.
Be aware of your own non verbal behaviour

• Notice how you are sitting in a

room during a meeting.

• Compare your posture to those

around you.

• What message is your non

verbal behaviour giving out?

Learn to read the nonverbal signals of other people and enhance

your own ability to communicate effectively.
 2. Look for Incongruent Behaviours

• If someone's words do not match their

nonverbal behaviours.
• When words fail to match up with nonverbal
signals, people tend to ignore what has been
said and focus instead on unspoken
expressions of moods, thoughts,
and emotions.
• So when someone says one thing, but his or
her body language seems to suggest
something else, it can be useful to pay extra
attention to those subtle nonverbal cues.
 Trust your instincts

• Don’t dismiss your gut feelings.

• If you get the sense that someone isn’t being honest or that
something isn’t adding up, you may be picking up on a
mismatch between verbal and nonverbal cues.
3. Concentrate on Your Tone of Voice When
Speaking
• Your tone of voice can convey a wealth
of information, ranging from
enthusiasm to disinterest to anger.

• If you want to show genuine interest in

something, express your enthusiasm by
using an animated tone of voice. Such
signals convey your feelings about a
topic and also help generate interest in
the people listening to you speak.
 4. Use Good Eye Contact
• When people fail to look others in
the eye - trying to hide something.
• Too much eye contact -
confrontational or intimidating.
• Experts recommend intervals of
eye contact lasting four to five
seconds.
• Effective eye contact should feel
natural and comfortable for both
you and the person you are
speaking with.
5. Ask Questions About Nonverbal Signals

• A good idea is to repeat back your

interpretation of what has been said and ask
for clarification if you are confused about
another person's nonverbal signals

• A person might be giving off certain

nonverbal signals because he has something
else on his mind. By inquiring further into his
message and intent, you might get a better
idea of what he is really trying to say.
 6. Use Signals to Make Communication
More Meaningful
• You can improve your spoken
communication by using body
language that reinforces and supports
what you are saying.

• This can be especially useful when

making presentations or when
speaking to a large group of people.
7. Look at Signals as a Group

• A single gesture can mean any number of

things, or maybe even nothing at all.
• The key to accurately reading nonverbal
behaviour is to look for groups of signals
that reinforce a common point.
• If you place too much emphasis on just
one signal out of many, you might come
to an inaccurate conclusion about what a
person is trying to say.
 8. Consider the Context

• When you are communicating with others, always consider

the context in which the communication occurs.
• Consider whether or not nonverbal behaviours are
appropriate for the context.
• Strive to match your nonverbal signals to the situation to
ensure that you are conveying the message you really want
to send.
 9. Be Aware That Signals Can be Misread
• A firm handshake indicates a strong
personality while a weak handshake is taken
as a lack of fortitude. This example illustrates
an important point about the possibility of
misreading nonverbal signals. A limp
handshake might actually indicate something
else entirely, such as arthritis.
• Always remember to look for groups of
behaviour. A person's overall demeanour is far
more telling than a single gesture viewed in
isolation.
 10. Learn to manage stress
• When you’re stressed out, you’re more
likely to misread other people, send
confusing or off-putting nonverbal signals,
and lapse into unhealthy patterns of
behaviour.
• You being upset is very likely to make others
upset, thus making a bad situation worse.
• If you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress, it’s
best to take a time out. Take a moment to
calm down before you jump back into the
conversation.
Emotional awareness strengthens
nonverbal communication
 11. Practice, Practice, Practice
• You can build this skill by paying
careful attention to nonverbal
behaviours and practicing
different types of nonverbal
communication with others.

• By noticing nonverbal behaviour

and practicing your own skills,
you can dramatically improve
your communication abilities.
Is Reading Your Guests' Body Language
Important?
 Hospitality business is people business.

• In order to offer the best customer service, company-wide

customer care training is important.
• A message is not properly communicated unless it is
understood and agreed upon by the receiver.
• In order to be credible, both verbal and nonverbal messages
must be consistent.
• People communicate — verbally and nonverbally. It is only
natural that hotel staff should acquire a good understanding
of nonverbal communication and be able to identify their
guests' emotional state as well as their likes and dislikes.
• Hotel staff should be able to use nonverbal communication
to convey friendliness, helpfulness and genuine warmth.
They should also learn to eliminate negative paralanguage
that may send out the wrong message.
 Activity

• In groups discuss the kind of assumptions we might make

about a person who:

• Evades eye contact • Wears a conservative suite and tie

• Stands very close • Has a limp handshake
• Is quiet • Yawns during meetings
• Has hair dyed bright green • Stammers during interviews
Evades eye contact
• They Are Hiding Something
• Lack of confidence
• Low self esteem
• Social Anxiety
• They Like You
• They Are Having a Bad Day
• You Aren’t Visually Appealing
• They Aren’t Interested in What You are Saying
• You haven't organized your thoughts or are
unprepared.
• Think they are better or have a higher social standing
than the person they are listening to.
Stands very close
• The person likes you
• They feel comfortable around you
• The person has a hearing problem /
cannot hear you properly.
• The person wants to tell you a
secret/ Sensitive topic
• Their personal space is smaller than
yours.
• They are interested in what you have
to say
• Trying to be dominating
A person who is quiet
• Looking For Your Help
• Lacks social skills
• Lacks confidence
• Shy, introvert
• Wants to be left alone
• They are mad at you / do not like you
• Feel they are smarter than you
• Proud
• They are ignorant
• Do not have opinions to share
• Does not have leadership qualities
• Hiding something
Has hair dyed bright green
• Attention seekers
• Artistic purposes / Cool
• Rebellious
• They are into anime
• To make themselves more
interesting
• Emo or punk
• They do not have a respectable
profession
• Troubled
• A phase in their lives
• Attractive
Wears a conservative suite and tie
• Successful
• Rich
• Upper class
• Has a good job (White collar)
• Is going for a function
• Is going to attend a business meeting
• Has a job interview
• Snob
• Smart
• Professional
Has a limp handshake
• Shyness
• Lack of confidence
• Introvert
• Guilty
• General anxiety
• Physical disability
• Not interested
• Inability to lead / perform well
• Lack of authority
• Does not like you
• Finds you unhygienic
Yawns during meetings
• Bored
• Not interested
• Had a late night
• Physical disorder
• Tired
• A response to someone else
who just yawned
• Trying to be rude / send a rude
message
• Sleepy after a good meal
Stammers during interviews
• Unprepared
• Not confident / Nervous
• Has an inferiority complex
• Does not know the answer to the
question asked
• Feels out of his league
• Not focused
• Social anxiety
• Physical disability
• Has the fear of not getting the job
(a lot riding on the job)
• Emotional contagion is a term that describes the fact that
we take on the moods and attitudes of those around us.
While people generally don't act exactly identical to those
around them, moods of surrounding people can rub off on
us.